ENROLLMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS TRIPLES WITHIN PAST TWO YEARS.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

VAN NUYS- Enrollment in California charter schools has nearly tripled over the past two years as interest among parents has gained momentum, officials said Tuesday.

Los Angeles Unified helped boost those gains, adding 20 campuses this year, or about 9,000 new students, according to the California Charter School Association.

There are now 86 charter schools within the LAUSD, with more than 37,717 students enrolled.

Across the state, more than 80 new charter schools opened in September, adding 32,000 new students to the roster, an 18 percent increase over last year.

A total of 212,000 students now attend 574 charter schools. The charter association reports that one in 20 public schools statewide is a public charter school.

``I think a part of the reason for the growth, particularly in Los Angeles, is there are already many charter schools and friends of parents whose children are enrolled can see the improvements,'' said Caprice Young, who founded the charter association. ``The key thing about charter public schools is they have parent and teacher involvement in the creation of the schools, and that leads to personal satisfaction within the kids.''

One of those new schools is the Community Charter High School in Van Nuys, an offshoot of the Community Charter Middle School in the city of San Fernando, opened by Jacqueline Elliot. The new high school has 220 students and includes various arts programs.

Elliot believes the growth in charter schools and enrollment is based on parent satisfaction.

``Charter schools do good work and they are successful,'' she said. ``It is a more nurturing environment, where learning gaps are identified and filled. If we don't achieve our goals, the sponsoring districts can yank our funding.''

Charter schools are publicly funded campuses that have the freedom to innovate the curriculum. They offer smaller classes, emphasize performing arts and sciences, and can adopt stricter codes of conduct.

Los Angeles Unified officials said they had not seen the report and would not comment on it.

Some studies released within the last two years have questioned whether students enrolled in charter schools can help fill gaps in state test results. Young believes progress is continuously being made. She also cautioned that successes made among charter schools should not be directly used to condemn the noncharter.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com